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After raising over $6 million in Februray, InContext Solutions CTO Tracey Wiedmeyer promised that “2014 will be even more exciting for InContext, as all the hard work from the previous 18 months continues to materialize into a significant market advantage.” Now, the Chicago-based 3D virtual simulation tech company has announced $12 million in Series D funding, thanks to several backers including Beringea LLP and Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners.
“We are seeing great interest and investments from current clients as virtual continues to gain traction in the market. With this funding round, we will be able to exponentially boost our growth and offer enhanced virtual solutions for clients,” InContext CEO Mark Hardy said. “Our plan is to increase our dedicated and knowledgeable staff, invest further in our ShopperMX technology, and support expansion into Europe.”
The DIY ShopperMX technology, which allows manufacturers and retailers to use 3D visualization to test store and aisle layouts, product packaging, and shopper flow, grew 168 percent since its introduction in 2013. InContext also offers a ShopperLAB meeting space that allows researchers to showcase their findings on 12 by 6 foot high-resolution screens, and works in a variety of industries including retail and restaurant. Crucial to the five-year-old company is its burgeoning 3D technology.
“We see it becoming an ubiquitous tool across our entire market,” Wiedmeyer said. “Traditionally everyone has seen 3D technology as something that applies to hard core gamers, but what few realize is that the exponentially increasing technology curve has allowed it to be effectively deployed to mainstream consumers, and in our case the enterprise. There’s an incredible amount of power that can be placed at the fingertips of users for everything from consumer insights, to visualization to retail execution.”
Though visualization may currently be the leading area of 3D tech application, Hardy sees virtual simulation expanding into all areas of how a company functions. “Our technology allows companies to become faster, smarter and more profitable by enabling virtual simulations of store layouts, merchandising, product or communication concepts on-the-fly, while eliminating all labor, travel and CapEx expenditures associated with current practices,” he said.
This tech expansion depends on the growth of InContext’s 60-person team, headquartered in Chicago. The company is looking to hire 10 to 20 new hires across its divisions by the end of the year and an additional 30 to 50 over the next year and a half. “We’re very excited to continue to grow our Chicago employee base, as well as build teams where our customers need them most,” Wiedmeyer said, adding that most jobs will be added in sales, technology, and customer success. “The entire Chicago community has been instrumental in our success over the years, so we also look forward to giving back even more.”
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